100 jobs leaving Valley

PolyPhaser is closing its Minden plant to consolidate with the one in Hayden, Idaho. PolyPhaser employs more than 100 people here making surge protection for cell towers and similar devices.

A spokeswoman for the company said some employees of the Minden plant will be offered positions in Idaho. The plant is not expected to close until August 2009.

Parent company Smiths Interconnect Marketing Director Linda Johnson said the move is designed to bring all of the company's branches together.

"We want to bring the engineering and research and development teams together," she said. "The move will make us stronger competitors by allowing us not to duplicate efforts."

Hunt said that PolyPhaser's brand will still exist and that there will be no change in its operations or catalog.

"LEA International, PolyPhaser Corporation and Transtector Systems will continue to operate as independent brands and provide quality lightning and surge suppression solutions as well as enhanced customer service to the telecommunications, industrial, medical and defense markets", said Protection Technology Group President Shawn Thompson. "We look forward to the positive impact this opportunity will provide in supporting our customers."

Smiths announced the relocation of PolyPhaser to Idaho on Tuesday.

"The move to integrate PolyPhaser Corporation into our Hayden, Idaho, facility is designed to capitalize on the combined synergies between LEA, PolyPhaser, and Transtector," said Smiths Interconnect's acting president Ralph Phillips. "These teams have worked closely and productively for several years, and it is the next logical step to bring the groups under one roof to further develop technologies, and focus our combined strength and expertise to engineer, market and manufacture power and signal integrity solutions."

The company was founded in Florida in 1979 by Roger and Gayle Block.

In January 1984 they moved the company to Gardnerville. The Blocks moved to the present Meridian Business location in 1989.

PolyPhaser was purchased by Smiths in 1997.

On the Web

www.smithsinterconnect.com